Tiger Woods’ TGL explained; everything you need to know

Golf's newest league is finally starting.

Originally scheduled to debut in 2024, TGL postponed the opening date to Tuesday, January 7, 2025.

why?

Now, the SoFi Center, the arena that was supposed to host the league's competition in Southeast Florida, collapsed in November 2023. TGL has since announced plans to build the steel-supported structure in March 2024. It is scheduled.

That's certainly true. ESPN will broadcast Game 1 live immediately after Pittsburgh plays. duke blue devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Here's what you need to know about this new initiative.

format:

Two TGL teams will compete in a 15-hole match. Week 1 sees New York Golf Club take on The Bay Golf Club.

Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele will represent New York, while Shane Lowry, Windham Clark and Ludwig Oberg will play from The Bay.

In a given match, only three of the four players on each team play. Cameron Young will be absent from the New York national team, and Min Woo Lee will not play for The Bay this time.

The first nine holes feature three-person alternating shots, with all participants rotating in and out depending on their turn. With three players involved, it can be difficult for someone to get into a rhythm, so it might be difficult for some players. Alternating shots with two players is already difficult. There's also a 40-second shot clock, which forces the pace of play and makes things a little more difficult.

The format then changes for the final six holes. Holes 10 through 15 are all individual events, but include a rotating twist.

Two players from each team will compete on the 10th hole.

Then, on the 11th, two different players from each team will face off head-to-head.

The final two players then meet on the 12th hole, and this order is repeated for holes 13-15.

Each hole is worth one point, and the person with the lowest score gets that point after being out. A tie has no value. The person with the most points at the end of the 15-hole match wins.

If both teams are tied after 15 holes, overtime begins. Overtime on the TGL is nothing like the sudden-death playoffs on the PGA Tour.

Instead, there will be a 3-on-3 closer-to-the-pin competition.

The team that gets two strokes closer to the hole than the competing team wins in overtime and wins the match.

SoFi Center:

It's a great environment with a playing area the size of a soccer field.

At one end stands a giant screen 64 feet wide and 53 feet high. Players hit drives and approaches to this giant electronic wall from real grass, real rough, and real sand, depending on the lie. The screen produces ball shapes with amazing precision, making these shots closer to the real thing. Rory McIlroy himself said so. Keegan Bradley couldn't believe how accurate everything was during a recent practice session.

Once a player's approach finds the putting surface, their attention shifts to the green zone, an approximately 23,000 square foot short game area on the other side of the screen. A real bunker is also located next to the green, allowing players to hit real sand shots.

“That green is completely different than anything I've ever seen. It rotates 360 degrees and is the size of a basketball court,” ESPN's caller Matt Barry explained to SB Nation.

“The technology underneath the hole makes the greens undulate in real time, but the user doesn't notice it. They don't know it. Last time I was there they were rolling pretty fast, but the Rolling is real.”

To make this futuristic gameplay even more realistic, similar to golf courses across the country, a “greenskeeper” maintains the green during the match and repositions the pins as needed. Their tools are also similar. However, in some cases, the green may rotate to match the structure of the next hole. Even the slopes and reliefs may coincide in some cases. This is hard to imagine, but it's true. In any case, this process of transformation occurs while the competitors are teeing off on the next hole on the opposite side of the playing area.

The electronic caddy is another important dynamic to the TGL experience. This is basically a large touch screen next to the hole, and players use their fingers to align themselves. The caddy gives the player the exact yardage (meters for Europeans) of where he wants his shot to go. Players have complete freedom to use this feature to hit any shot anywhere. Viewers can also watch players use this electronic caddy to strategize and make decisions.

Season long score:

The season-wide scoring used by TGL mirrors the points system used in the National Hockey League (NHL).

If the team wins within regulation, the team is awarded 2 points. A team also earns 2 points if it wins in overtime.

However, if a team loses in overtime, they will be awarded one point.

On the other hand, if you lose in regulation, no points will be awarded.

Points are accumulated as the season progresses.

TGL

schedule:

Games are primarily played on Monday and Tuesday nights and are broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2. Each game is scheduled to last two hours and feature three of the four players from each roster.

There are currently six teams in TGL, and the schedule for each team is as follows:

New York Golf Club 2025 Schedule:

Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young

Tuesday, January 7th — ESPN/ESPN+ 9 p.m. ET — vs. The Bay Golf Club

Tuesday, January 21st — ESPN/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. Atlanta Drive GC

Tuesday, February 18th — ESPN/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. Jupiter Lynx GC

Monday, February 24th — ESPN2/ESPN+ 5 p.m. ET — vs. Los Angeles Golf Club

Monday, March 3rd — ESPN2/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. Boston Common Golf

The Bay Golf Club 2025 Schedule:

Ludwig Oberg, Windham Clark, Minwoo Lee, Shane Lowry

Tuesday, January 7th — ESPN/ESPN+ 9 p.m. ET — vs. New York Golf Club

Monday, February 17th — ESPN/ESPN+ 4 p.m. ET — vs. Atlanta Drive GC

Monday, February 17th — ESPN2/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. Boston Common Golf

Tuesday, February 25th — ESPN/ESPN+ 9 p.m. ET — vs. Jupiter Golf Links GC

Monday, March 3rd — ESPN2/ESPN+ 3 p.m. ET — vs. Los Angeles Golf Club

Los Angeles Golf Club 2025 Schedule:

Collin Morikawa, Sahit Segala, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose

Tuesday, January 14th — ESPN/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. Jupiter Golf Links

Tuesday, February 4th — ESPN/ESPN+ 9 p.m. ET — vs. Boston Common Golf

Monday, February 17th — ESPN2/ESPN+ 1 p.m. ET — vs. Atlanta Drive GC

Monday, February 24th — ESPN2/ESPN+ 5 p.m. ET — vs. New York Golf Club

Monday, March 3rd — ESPN2/ESPN+ 3 p.m. ET — vs. The Bay Golf Club

Jupiter Golf Links GC 2025 Schedule:

Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner

Tuesday, January 14th — ESPN/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. Los Angeles Golf Club

Monday, January 27th — ESPN/ESPN+ 6:30 p.m. ET — vs. Boston Common Golf

Tuesday, February 18th — ESPN/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. New York Golf Club

Tuesday, February 25th — ESPN/ESPN+ 9 p.m. ET — vs. The Bay Golf Club

Tuesday, March 4th — ESPN/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. Atlanta Drive GC

Atlanta Drive GC 2025 Schedule:

Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Lucas Glover

Tuesday, January 21st — ESPN/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. New York Golf Club

Monday, February 17th — ESPN/ESPN+ 1 p.m. ET — vs. Los Angeles Drive Golf Club

Monday, February 17th — ESPN/ESPN+ 4 p.m. ET — vs. The Bay Golf Club

Monday, February 24th — ESPN2/ESPN+ 9 p.m. ET — vs. Boston Common Golf

Tuesday, March 4th — ESPN/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. Jupiter Lynx GC

Boston Common Golf 2025 Schedule:

Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama

Monday, January 27th — ESPN/ESPN+ 6:30 p.m. ET — vs. Jupiter Golf Links

Tuesday, February 4th — ESPN/ESPN+ 9 p.m. ET — vs. Los Angeles Drive Golf Club

Monday, February 17th — ESPN2/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. The Bay Golf Club

Monday, February 24th — ESPN2/ESPN+ 9 p.m. ET — vs. Atlanta Drive GC

Tuesday, March 4th — ESPN2/ESPN+ 7 p.m. ET — vs. New York Golf Club

postseason schedule

The final week of the regular season, before the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, will feature a regional tripleheader with traditional sports rivalries. Bay Golf Club and Los Angeles Golf Club will play first on Monday afternoon, March 3, followed by New York and Boston facing off that evening. The final game of the regular season will pit Woods' Jupiter Links GC against Thomas' Atlanta Drive GC.

The top four teams in the SoFi Cup standings will advance to the playoffs, which begin on Monday, March 17, the day after the final round of the 2025 Players Championship. The first semifinal will be broadcast on ESPN2 that night at 7 p.m. The second semifinal will be held on Tuesday, March 18th at 7pm on ESPN.

The winners of these two semifinal games will advance to the Best-of-3 Championship Series, scheduled to begin Monday, March 24 on ESPN2. A specific time for the first finals game has not yet been announced, which makes sense given the network's commitment to postseason college basketball at the time. ESPN owns the rights to the women's NCAA Tournament and men's NIT. Both of these tournaments have historically typically had games held on that Monday night.

ESPN will then broadcast Games 2 and 3 (if applicable) on Tuesday, March 25th at 7:00 p.m.

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.